§ 47117. Use of apportioned amounts

(a) Grant Purpose.— Except as provided in this section, an amount apportioned under section 47114 (c)(1) or (d)(2) of this title is available for making grants for any purpose for which amounts are made available under section 48103 of this title.

(b) Period of Availability.— An amount apportioned under section 47114 of this title is available to be obligated for grants under the apportionment only during the fiscal year for which the amount was apportioned and the 2 fiscal years immediately after that year or the 3 fiscal years immediately following that year in the case of a nonhub airport or any airport that is not a commercial service airport. If the amount is not obligated under the apportionment within that time, it shall be added to the discretionary fund.

(1) An amount apportioned to a sponsor of a primary airport under section 47114 (c)(1) of this title is available for grants for any public-use airport of the sponsor included in the national plan of integrated airport systems.

(2) Waiver.— A sponsor of an airport may make an agreement with the Secretary of Transportation waiving the sponsor’s claim to any part of the amount apportioned for the airport under sections 47114 (c) and 47114 (d)(3)(A) if the Secretary agrees to make the waived amount available for a grant for another public-use airport in the same State or geographical area as the airport, as determined by the Secretary.

(d) State Use.— An amount apportioned to a State under—

(1) section 47114 (d)(2)(A) of this title is available for grants for airports located in the State; and

(2) section 47114 (d)(2)(B) or (C) of this title is available for grants for airports described in section 47114 (d)(2)(B) or (C) and located in the State.

(e) Special Apportionment Categories.—

(1) The Secretary shall use amounts available to the discretionary fund under section 47115 of this title for each fiscal year as follows:

(A) At least 35 percent for grants for airport noise compatibility planning under section 47505 (a)(2), for carrying out noise compatibility programs under section 47504 (c), for noise mitigation projects approved in an environmental record of decision for an airport development project under this title, for compatible land use planning and projects carried out by State and local governments under section 47141, and for airport development described in section 47102 (3)(F), 47102 (3)(K), or 47102 (3)(L) to comply with the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). The Secretary may count the amount of grants made for such planning and programs with funds apportioned under section 47114 in that fiscal year in determining whether or not such 35 percent requirement is being met in that fiscal year.

(B) at ^[1] least 4 percent to sponsors of current or former military airports designated by the Secretary under section 47118 (a) of this title for grants for developing current and former military airports to improve the capacity of the national air transportation system and to sponsors of noncommercial service airports for grants for operational and maintenance expenses at any such airport if the amount of such grants to the sponsor of the airport does not exceed $30,000 in that fiscal year, if the Secretary determines that the airport is adversely affected by the closure or realignment of a military base, and if the sponsor of the airport certifies that the airport would otherwise close if the airport does not receive the grant.

(C) In any fiscal year in which the total amount made available under section 48103 is $3,200,000,000 or more, at least two-thirds of 1 percent for grants to sponsors of reliever airports which have—

(i) more than 75,000 annual operations;

(ii) a runway with a minimum usable landing distance of 5,000 feet;

(iii) a precision instrument landing procedure;

(iv) a minimum number of aircraft, to be determined by the Secretary, based at the airport; and

(v) been designated by the Secretary as a reliever airport to an airport with 20,000 hours of annual delays in commercial passenger aircraft takeoffs and landings.

(2) If the Secretary decides that an amount required to be used for grants under paragraph (1) of this subsection cannot be used for a fiscal year because there are insufficient qualified grant applications, the amount the Secretary determines cannot be used is available during the fiscal year for grants for other airports or for other purposes for which amounts are authorized for grants under section 48103 of this title.

(3) Priority.— The Secretary shall give priority in making grants under paragraph (1)(A) to applications for airport noise compatibility planning and programs at and around—

(A) Chicago O’Hare International Airport;

(B) LaGuardia Airport;

(D) Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

(f) Discretionary Use of Apportionments.—

(1) In general.— Subject to paragraph (2), if the Secretary finds that all or part of an amount of an apportionment under section 47114 is not required during a fiscal year to fund a grant for which the apportionment may be used, the Secretary may use during such fiscal year the amount not so required to make grants for any purpose for which grants may be made under section 48103. The finding may be based on the notifications that the Secretary receives under section 47105 (f) or on other information received from airport sponsors.

(2) Restoration of apportionments.—

(A) In general.— If the fiscal year for which a finding is made under paragraph (1) with respect to an apportionment is not the last fiscal year of availability of the apportionment under subsection (b), the Secretary shall restore to the apportionment an amount equal to the amount of the apportionment used under paragraph (1) for a discretionary grant whenever a sufficient amount is made available under section 48103.

(B) Period of availability.— If restoration under this paragraph is made in the fiscal year for which the finding is made or the succeeding fiscal year, the amount restored shall be subject to the original period of availability of the apportionment under subsection (b). If the restoration is made thereafter, the amount restored shall remain available in accordance with subsection (b) for the original period of availability of the apportionment plus the number of fiscal years during which a sufficient amount was not available for the restoration.

(3) Newly available amounts.—

(A) Restored amounts to be unavailable for discretionary grants.— Of an amount newly available under section 48103 of this title, an amount equal to the amounts restored under paragraph (2) shall not be available for discretionary grant obligations under section 47115.

(B) Use of remaining amounts.— Subparagraph (A) does not impair the Secretary’s authority under paragraph (1), after a restoration under paragraph (2), to apply all or part of a restored amount that is not required to fund a grant under an apportionment to fund discretionary grants.

(4) Limitations on obligations apply.— Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to incur grant obligations under section 47104 for a fiscal year in an amount greater than the amount made available under section 48103 for such obligations for such fiscal year.

(g) Limiting Authority of Secretary.— The authority of the Secretary to make grants during a fiscal year from amounts that were apportioned for a prior fiscal year and remain available for approved airport development project grants under subsection (b) of this section may be impaired only by a law enacted after September 3, 1982, that expressly limits that authority.

[1] So in original. Probably should be capitalized.

U.S. Code

§ 47117. Use of apportioned amounts